BENGALURU: The Central Crime Branch (CCB) police have arrested a 26-year-old realtor and his chartered accountant friend and seized Rs 1.28 crore in scrapped currency notes from them. The duo were trying to exchange the invalid `500 and `1,000 denomination notes into new ones through Non-Resident Indians.
The arrested are realtor Ajay and Jemmy Rahul.
Based on a tip-off, policemen, in the guise of clients, approached the duo and sealed a deal to exchange the invalid notes with valid ones at a commission of 58 per cent. A meeting was set up and the policemen met Rahul on Pipeline Road, who showed them `50 lakh in the boot of the car. He told them the remaining amount was in the apartment. Police then arrested Rahul and Ajay.
Police said the duo used to earn well but they used to stash the money in their houses instead of depositing it in banks.
After the demonetisation, the duo had `4 crore invalid notes, and they managed to convert `2.1 crore through various means. As the time to exchange currency expired, they were looking to exchange the old currency through NRIs who still have provision to do so till March 31.